Manufactured by Fabrique Nationale, one of the top leading arms companies of
Europe, the P90 is
FN's answer to NATO's request for a compact Personal Defense Weapon
system that will defeat armored targets, which in the modern battlefield is becoming more proliferous. A bullpup design, the P90 boasts complete ambidexterity, with ambidexterous fire selector, magazine release, and downward casing ejection. Most unique about the weapon is its 50-round magazine, mounted vertically parallel to the barrel, the cartridges are actually rotated 90 degrees in the magazine before entering the chamber. This round, the 5.7
x 28
mm (a necked-down 5.56 x 45mm), is being touted as the answer to kevlar-wearing opponents, being able to
pierce 48 layers of CRISAT from a range of 200 m. With a dual-composition steel/aluminum core, the 5.7 will tumble upon penetration of soft tissue, leaving
deep cavities up to 2-3 inches. Despite this, the relatively low muzzle energy and mass of the 5.7 round sometimes prove unreliable in terms stopping
power against unarmored targets, unlike the venerable .
45 ACP, or even the 9
mm Parabellum.
